Elections board retreats from earlier statement on not counting votes on Cleveland ballot issues
Voters cast their ballots inside the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Wednesday, October 11, 2017.The Plain Dealer
By Peter Krouse, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is walking back a spokesman's statement that the board would not tally votes cast for two issues on March ballots in Cleveland if supporters withdraw the petitions used to get the issues before voters.
Elections Director Anthony Perlatti told cleveland.com that the statement issued Friday from spokesman Mike West was premature. While past practice might dictate that the votes not be tallied, he said, the board would need to conduct more research before making such a decision.
"This is something that doesn't happen often," Perlatti said.
The ballot issues call for Cleveland City Council to be reduced from 17 to nine members and council pay to be cut from $83,000 a year to $58,000. Clevelanders First, a citizens group, forced City Council to place the issues on March 17 ballot by collecting the signatures of more than 6,500 voters in support of each measure.
But the fate of the issues was called into question last weekend, when Clevelanders First announced it intends to withdraw its petitions. Bill Ritter, a Clevelanders First leader, told cleveland.com the group was responding to the concerns of East Side pastors that reducing council to nine members could result in a divisive East Side-West Side split of wards.
In response to the announcement, West told cleveland.com on Friday that the issues would remain on the already printed ballots for city voters. But he said the board would not tally the votes if Clevelanders First followed through on its pledge to withdraw the petitions.
Asked by cleveland.com on Monday and Tuesday to cite the state law that would allow the board to disregard votes cast for the issues, West provided responses that did not answer the question.
In an email Monday, West stated that backers of an issue can withdraw their petitions "at any time before the election," but cited no state law to support the claim. He added in the email that "Notices will be provided to voters that the votes cast will not be tallied."
West stated in a Tuesday email that the petitions could be withdrawn "at any time until the day before the election," but again did not cite a state law to support his claim. He added, "This is really between Cleveland and the Committee."
West did send cleveland.com a reference to the Secretary of State's handbook, which provides no applicable references to state law. But the handbooks advises boards of elections to "consult with your county prosecutor regarding any withdrawal of a local question or issue."
Perlatti told cleveland.com Tuesday evening that the board has not decided how to proceed if the issues are withdrawn, despite the statements made by West.
He said the board will seek guidance from the Secretary of State before making a decision because of the lack of clarity in state law.
Ohio Revised Code specifically states that "nothing prevents" backers of an issue from withdrawing their petitions 60 or more days before an election. But the law says nothing about whether backers can withdraw petitions within 60 days of an election.
Perlatti said the board also will consult with the local prosecutor and look for any past cases that might serve as a precedent.
Meanwhile, the backers of the two issues have yet to formally withdraw their petitions, though Ritter told cleveland.com on Friday that his group still intends to do so.